Gold-for-oil deal 'significantly' stabilised cedi - Ofori-Atta

The gold-for-oil deal introduced in 2022 greatly helped to stabilise the Ghana cedi, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has told parliament.

Presenting the 2024 budget on Wednesday, 15 November 2023, Mr Ofori-Atta said the G4O policy, which leverages the Bank of Ghana’s domestic gold purchase programme, was intended to provide foreign exchange financing for the importation of petroleum products and help reduce demand for US dollars from the Bulk Import Distribution and Export Companies (BIDECs) who would have otherwise gone to the market to source forex for the importation of petroleum products.

"Since then, under the gold for reserves programme, the Bank of Ghana has purchased a total amount of 17.89 tons (US$1,140m) of gold to boost its gold reserves", he reported.

In addition, he said "under the G4O programme, 23 cargoes (circa 800,000 metric tonnes) of Gasoline and Gasoil, equivalent to 30 per cent of national consumption, have so far been imported".

The G4O programme, he noted, "has significantly contributed to the stabilisation of the cedi/dollar exchange rate (GH¢17 in November 2022 to GH¢12 in November 2023 to the dollar) leading to a reduction in the ex-pump price of diesel from GH¢23 per litre to GH¢12 per litre".

Mr Ofori-Atta noted that "the plan is to scale up the programme to cover 50 percent of national consumption".

"These interventions have boosted gross reserves of the Bank of Ghana and helped reduced foreign exchange pressures emanating from BIDECs by reducing their dependance on the foreign exchange interbank market thereby leading to a more stable cedi and ex-pump petroleum prices this year"